General Education Program / Life Skills

Students that come to Shepherds College learn so much more than academics. They learn how to mature and function by themselves, as well as interact with their peers.

Shepherds College offers the following courses to teach each student necessary living and working skills. Below is the course name as well as a brief description of activities done in each class.

Computer

This course teaches students everyday functions like using e-mail and Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, Word, and using the computer calendar.

Daily Living

This course will provide students with knowledge of basic life skills that will help them pursue goals for living independently. They will gain knowledge and skills to help them achieve appropriate independence in areas of healthcare, self-medication, home care and maintenance, and home and community safety.

Math & Money Skills

Students learn how to manage money, create graphs, understand grocery store pricing, understand fluid ounces and the basics of rulers, all standard mathematical functions and story problems.

Personal Development

This class is full of activities that help them practice social and personal skills. They read poetry aloud to practice public speaking, learn the importance of first impressions, identify positive and negative impressions and learn how to properly get to know one another. More tasks include time management, understanding how to motivate themselves to get things completed, and what a healthy lifestyle means (eating well, exercise, getting enough sleep, setting personal goals, and encouraging others).

Study Skills

Distractions are a large part of why so many students fail in college. This class demonstrates how to eliminate distractions so that work can get done. Library visits are regular and they learn how to check out books with their library cards, take notes and write papers in the proper format.

Communication

This class prepares students for interactions with potential employers and co-workers. Conflict resolution, listening, interpersonal written and oral communication skills are taught, as well as recognizing personal emotions and identifying the emotions of others.

We want the students that come to Shepherds College to leave here equipped with all the necessary tools to function and live in the working world. It is our goal that when each one of these students graduates, that they feel completely confident to face the world head-on.